Means for controlling the recoil and muzzle-blast of guns.



PATENTED MAR. 28,1905.

s. N. MQOLEAN. v I MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE BEOOIL AND MUZZLE BLAST 0F GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1904:

Tlnvento;

witnesses UNITED STATES- Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL N. MoOLEAN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 785,975, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed July 1, 1904- Serial No. 214,996.

T 0 all 'w/wm it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL N. MoOLnAN, aresident of Cleveland, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means for Controlling the Recoil and Muzzle-Blast of Guns, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to firearms, and more particularly to the control'of the gas-current in double-barreled guns, such as the ordinary double-barrel shotgun, and as the result of the control of the gas-current effecting the control of the recoil and the muzzle-blast and minimizing the violence, character, and extent of the zone of disturbance at the muzzle.

of the barrel due to said muzzle-blast.

Prior to the date of the present invention I have devised a means of controlling the gascurrent whereby the kick or recoil of the gun and the blast of the gases of discharge at the muzzle are diminished and the report of the discharge largely decreased, which means, briefly stated, consist of areas of resistance formed on the interior surface of the barrel, associated with which areas are a series of vents for the escape of the powder-gases.

In using guns, such as double-barrel shotguns, for sporting purposes the blast of the powder-gases issuing from the muzzle of the barrel sets up a violent disturbance, extending over -a considerable zone around the muzzle, which very much interferes with the.'accuracy of the flight of the shot or other form of projectile, while the recoil or kick of thebarrel tends to throw the muzzle of the gun off of the line of sight and also has a tendency to cause the sportsman to shrink or flinch from the punishment due to the recoil. These are serious elements, interfering with the accuracy of the gun and tending to materially interfere with the readiness with which the sportsman may discharge the second barrel immediately after the first.

The object of the present invention is to so effect the control of the-gas-current before it issues from the muzzle of the barrel as to partially or entirely eliminate the recoil,

' whereby the punishment to the sportsman will be avoided, and also as the result of this control of the gas-current thezone of disturb- A more injurious result of the violent dise turbance set up by the gas-current at the muzzle of the barrel in guns as heretofare constructed is the effect which this violent disturbance has'upon the projectile immedi- 'MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE RECOIL AND MUZZLE-BLAST OIF GUNS-l ately after it leaves the muzzle ofthe barrel,

tending to interfere with the accuracy of its revolution in rifled arms and tending to materially deflect it from its course in smoothbore guns, such as shotguns, and one of the 'most'important beneficial results due to my invention is that the pro ectile as it leaves the muzzle of the gun is not subjected to the violent cross-currents and other. distu rbance due to the muzzle blast, since this blast is so largely reduced and its violent character so much diminished that the projectile continues on its lineof flight practically as it was directed by the barrel.

It has been found that when the violence and extent of the area of disturbance has been largely eliminated and the force of the recoil counteracted the accuracy'of the flight of the' projectile from the instant it leaves the muzzle of the gun is much increased and its trajectory greatly flattened, thereby contributing to the accuracy with which the sportsman can use the weapon.

In-carryrng. out my lnvention I provide the interior surface of each barrel of. the doublebarreled gun with areas of resistance to the forward movement of the gases of discharge and associate with these areas ofresistance lowed to gradually and almost entirely disappear when they reach that portion of the bare rel constituting the midrib or dividing metal between the barrels. This results in agroo've which is annular in cross-section, with the exception that it is flattened- 5. e., is of diminished depth along the portion of the midrib or dividing metal between the barrels. In other instances the metal forming the partition between the two barrels is considerably thicker than that of guns as heretofore con- On the other hand, the. grooves or areas of resistance on the interior of the barrel may in the same transverse plane.

the metal or midrib between the barrels is not be formed in staggered relation-i. 6., the groove or area of resistance in one barrel is placed opposite an intervening space in the. adjacent barrel, so that no two grooves or areas of resistance in the two barrels will lie By this means weakened to such an extent as would occur if the grooves were opposite each other. In

, fact, the grooves themselves'may thereby be made much deeper than would be practicable -if the grooves in the two barrels were permitted to lie two in any transverse plane.

For the purpose of utilizing the reaction of the gases passing out of the vents associated with the areas of resistance a considerable.

number of the vents are inclined rearward, preferably at an angle of about forty-fivedegrees to the axis of the: barrel. .All of the vents may, ifde'sired, be thus inclined-rear ward; but in order toavoida backward blast of the'gases, which would prove to be detri-" mental if-not injurious to the gunner, I preferably arrange some of the vents associated with the areas of resistance at an angle of aboiitforty-,five degrees to the axis ofthe barrel, and

othersare radial tothe barrel. Preferably these radial and rearwardly-inclinedlvehts al ternate with'eachrother, so as to distribute the escapinggases over a large space,*-=-andthus preventa too greateoncentration at any i particularpoi-nt. For the purpose of "permit ting theis'capeofth'e gas-at that side of ,ith'e barrel which is adjacent tothe other barrel 1,

preferably pass vertical 'holesor openings through the midrib "or dividing-partition and permit a portion of thevents associated-with the areas of resistance to-dischargetheir-gas into these vertical openings. I

In some instances-the radial vents and the rearwardly-inelined vents associated with the areas of resistance are so arranged that the jets' of gas issuing from said tents cross or in terfere-with each other, thereby serving to break up the respective jets and disseminate the same over a greater area. The result of this is that the sound of the discharge, as well as the violence of the blast issuing from the r jets, is much diminished.- j

While the areas of resistance and their associated vents are formed in the walls of the gun-barrel proper, it is not to be understood that the gun-barrel itself or the pair of gunbarrels are necessarily integral. The areas of-resistance and the vents associated therewith may be either formed in'an integral portion of the barrels'zor fliey may be formed in aportion of the barrels which is detachably secured to the other orrearward; portion of the barrels. In either event the result secured is the safne-i. e.', the tension andvelocity of the powder-gas within the barrel is largely reduced before thecharge of shot or other projectile issues from the muzzle of the barrel and during the time in which the barrel exerts I the usual control and function of. the, barrel over said charge of shot or other form of projectile. It will be apparent of-illustrating said invention I have'shown in the accompanying. drawings two of the forms It is to be understood, however, that said drawings are for which the same may assume.

the. purpose of illustration only and not for.

to those skilled in the; art that the invention may be embodied in various mechanical forms, and forthe purposes the purpose of defining the limits of the in vention.

Referring to said drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal section through the muzzlegportion of a double-barreled shotgun, showing the areasof resistance in the two barrels arranged in pairs,-each'member of the pair being in thesame transverse vertical plane.' Fig. 2 is a sectiomon the line 220i Fig.1: Fig. 3 is a'ghorizontalsection through; a double-bar- 7 rel'edj gun -having athickened midrib between the barrels, the areas of resistance in the two barrels being shown in different transverse vertical "planes. Fig.4 is atransverse-vertical. "section"onithe-linei l .4, Fig; 3:', -and Fig. 5 is a broken detail illustrating the arrangement ofe the ventsg and Fig; 6 isa. horizontal sec- "tiionsthrough theforward partof a 'doublej 8 ledgun, showing another construction of re is a and I "Referringto-Figs. l'and'2ofthe draw-ings, 1 is the forward portion of a double-barreled- 'shotgu'n-,-which isp'referably provided witha "nce-surfaces'and vents associated there- Fig. 7 is asection'on, line 7 7, Fig. 6';-

rzo

thickened portion 3 near the muzzle .or for-'- ward end'of the barrel, and withinlthis-ithickened portion m- :formed areasof; resistance "in the'shape of annular grooves 5. In this case the midrib 6- between the barrels is of I the samethickness as that in the ordinary construction of a double-barreled gun, and

the annular grooves 5 are of even depth around 3 the entire interior of the'barrel, except that portion of the grooves adjacent to themid rib 6, at which portion the grooves gradually diminish in depth and may entirely disappear, so that in viewing the grooves in transverse section, as shown in Fig. 2, there will be a flattened portion 7 Associated with the grooves 5, and preferably with each of said grooves, is a series of rearwa'rdly-inclined vents 8 and also a series of radial vents 9. While one of the areas of resistance might, if desired, be provided with rearwardly-inclined vents only and the 'next adjacent area of resistance be provided with radial vents only, I prefer to provide each groove with both rearwardly-inclined and radial vents which alternate with each other, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. When thusconstructed, the radial vents 9 extend outwardly from the bottom or deepest portion of the groove immediately adjacent to the forward wall thereof, while the rearwardly-inclined vents 8 preferably extend from another wall, which is here shown as inclined forward and outward in the walls of the barrel, the exterior opening of such rearwardly inclined vents being forward of the series of radial vents formed in the groove next to \the rear and alternating therewith, all of which will be clearly understood by an inspection of Figs. 1 and 5.

Referring to Fig. 8, and considering any two of the grooves in a single barrel, it will be observed that the rearwardly-inclined vents of one groove are substantially in longitudinal alinement with the radial vents of the groove immediately to its rear, so that the gas issuing from the rearwardly-inclined vent crosses or interferes with the gas issuing from the radial vent of the rear groove. This results in every material. breaking up and dissemination of the gas issuing from each of the vents, so that the totalamountlgas discharged from the vents associated with th" areas of resistance within the barrel is more evenly distributed than would be the case if the various jets would not cross or interfere with each other't'. a, in a construction such as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3,,the areas of resistance and the vents associated therewith are formed .to the rear of the muzzle portion 10 of the gun and in an integral part of the barrels. As. above stated, these areas of resistance may, if desired, be formed in a portion of the barrel which is detachably attached to theother portion thereof. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 1. Moreover, in Fig. 3 the midrib is shown much thicker than the construction of Fig. 1, such rib being indieated at 11, and in order to avoid a too great weakening of the metal of the rib be tween the barrels and to permit the formation of grooves of greater depth there are formed annular grooves 12 12, which are arranged in groove, as shown in Fig. 2, or, if desired,

planes, as will be readily understood by'an inspection of said Fig. 3. Passing vertically through the thickened midrib 11 are perforations 13, preferably one for each of the grooves or areas of resistance in each barrel. These perforations 13 communicate with each of the grooves 12 either by themselves being formed so as to just cut the periphery of the there may be a separate channel leading from the groove 12 to the perforation 13. This perforation affords an escape for the gas, which is-arrested or which impinges upon that portion of the grooves or the areas of resistance opposite the thickened midrib.

It will be observed that by forming the areas of resistanceand the vents associated therewith in the walls of the barrel itself, whether said barrel is integrally orsectionally formed, the control of the gas-current is effected and its violence, tension, and velocity greatly diminished during the time in which the shot or other form of projectile is within the gun-barrel and still under the barrels control. This is particularly exemplified in the construction shown in Fig. 6, wherein the portion of the barrel in front of the forward area of resistance is shown as slightly contracted or choked, as indicated at 14 in said figure, in themanner well known in the art. choke upon the charge occurs after the areas The effect of the of resistance and their associated vents have tofore existing just forward of the muzzle.

It will also be noticed in connection with Figs. 6 and 'l-that the areas of resistance 15 are not only flattened or decreased in depth adjacent to the midrib, but that they are likewise flat tened or decreased in depth on that side of Tthembarrel diametrically opposite the midrib,

as sl1oTvn-at 16 in said figure, and that the vents associatedw'iththeareas of resistance may be omitted along a portion of the extent of the barrel, asshownat 17 The object of this is to avoid any possible tndenc,,v of the gases issuing from the side of the barrel to -ng throw the same to one side or the other, as the case might be, by the reaction of the gases against the air on the outside.

What is claimed is- '1. A gun-barrel havingan areaof resistance to the gas-current on its interior, vents asso-' ciated with said areas and a, contraction or choke of the bore in advance of' said area of resistance- 2. A gun-barrel having an area of resistance to the gas-currenton its interior, and a plurality of vents associated with said area of resistance and a contraction or choke of the bore in advance of saidarea of resistance.

3. Agun-barrel having an area of resistance ilo ' to the gas-current on its interior, a plurality of rearwardly inclined vents associated with said area of resistance and acontraction or ;"choke of the bore in advance of saidarea.

5.'of resistance.

4. A gun-barrel having an area of resistance i to the gas-current on its interior, aplurality of radially-inclined vents-associated with said area of resistance, and a contraction or choke of the bore in advance of said area of resistance.

- -5. A gun-barrel having an area of resistance. to the gas-current on its interior, a plurality of rearwardlyinclinedvents and a plurality of radial vents associated with said area of resistance, and a contraction or choke of the bore in advance of said area of resistance.

- 6. Adouble-barreled gun havingaplurality of areas of resistance in each barrel, said areas in the .two barrels beingin-staggered relation to each other. A

11 A double-barreled gunhavi'ngaiplurality i of areas of resistance in each barrel, saidareasin the twd barrels being in staggered relation 5 V to each othe and lateral vents associated with said areas 0 resistance.

8. Adonble-barreled gun of areas of; resistance in each barrel, said areas ihithe two barrels being instaggeredrelation 3 to each other, and radial lateral vents associated with said areas ofresistance. 9. Adouble-barreled gun havingaplurality ofareas of resistance in eachbarrel, said areas in the-two'barrels being in. staggered relation to each other, and rearwardly-inclined lateral vents associated with said areas of resistance.

10. A double-barreled gun having a'plurality of areas of resistance in each barrel arranged in staggered relatien to each other in 4 the twobarl l y and a plurality of alternately arranged radiafand rearvggrdly-inclined vents associated with said area'jefresistance.

11. 'A gun-barrel. having anarea ofresistance formed on its interior and a p1ui'alityof intimately-arranged radial and .rea'rwardlyinclined vents associated with said area ofresistance. f" 7 f 12. A gun-barrel having agroove on its interior said groove being flattened or having 5 its depth decreased on one side of the barrel. 13. A gun-barrel having an area ofresistance to the gas-current on its interior, said area being in the form of a groove flattened havingapluralityor of decreasing depth on opposite sides 13f the barrel.

' 14. A gun-barrel having a groove on its in terior said groove being flattened or having its depth decreased on one side of the barrel, and a plurality of vents associated with said areaof resistance. 1 15. A gun barrel having an area of resist- ;ance to the gas-current on its interior, said area-being in the form of a groove flattened ,or of decreasing depth on opposite sides of the barrel, and a plurality of vents associated with said area of resistance. 16. Adouble-barreled gun havingan area of resistance on the interior of one of its barrels, said area diminishing in cross-sectional area adjacent to the midrib or metal between the barrels.

17. Adouble-barreled gun having an area of .resistance in the form of a groove on the in terior of each barrel, said grooves diminishing :in depth ad acent the midrib or metal between the barrels.

/ 18. Adouble-barreled gunliavi-nganareaofi resistance on the interior of each barrel and a :vent associated'with each area of resistance- ".and passing through the midrib or metal between-the barrels. a

19. A double-barr'eled gun having a'plurality of areas of resistance to the gas-current on the interior of each barrel, said areas being in staggered relation in the two barrels, and

a vent associated with each area of resistance and passing throngh the midrib or metal between the barrels.

20- A gun-barrelhaving a pluralityof areas of resistance to the gas-current on its interior and a plurality of vents associated'with said Mai areas, some-of the vents directing jets of escaping gas across or at an angle to jets escap- 'ing from other vents. r i

21. A gun-barrel having a plurality of areas, of resistance to thegas-g lirrent formed on its interior wall, and a plurali-ty'of vents associated with said areas of resistance, vents associated with one of said.,.areas directing-she escaping gas at an angle to the line of direction of gas escaping from' vents associated with an area of resistance to the rear of said first area of resistance.

In testimony whereofl'have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL N. MoCLEAN.

Witnesses: I S. T. CAMERON,

GUs'rAvn R. Thomson.

IOO 

